by Moti Cohen
Happy New Year dear friends! I would like to share an update with you about our weekly outreach Feed Tel Aviv. Yesterday was New Year’s Eve and, because my wife has a Russian background, I know that this holiday (called Novi Gode) is a very festive and nostalgic time for those who come from the former Soviet Union. Russian Jewish immigrants in Israel celebrate this holiday with certain foods, and I decided that after our regular meal distribution to serve one of the staples of the traditional “Novi Gode” food that every Russian associates with the holiday: smoked salmon served on white bread with lots of butter. The Russian speakers in the area of our outreach (drug addicts and women enslaved in the sex industry) were excited and touched by the special holiday food. Some of them, with tears in their eyes, said that it was the loveliest surprise they could have had. They were touched that I, with my Moroccan Jewish background, would care enough to do something special for them. This very simple dish that we served created a special atmosphere, smiles and even laughter which is extremely rare for people who live a daily existence of so much suffering. Praise God!
This year our congregation received a generous donation from believers in South Korea which has allowed us, among other things, to purchase winter gear for the homeless which arrived this week. So, on New Year’s Eve we were able to hand out blankets, sleeping bags, warm socks, hats and gloves to the people living on the street who suffer greatly during the winter months. We give all the glory to the Lord, and we would like to thank our friends for their generosity: your support is enabling us to continue serving in our calling as a congregation to shine the light of Yeshua here in His homeland Israel!
We pray that God would bless you abundantly in 2021 with the blessing He has promised for those who love and stand with His people Israel!
God bless you and your work for.the Kingdom and prayers for 2021 and continued progress being hands and feet of Jesus.
Dear Friends in Jeshua,
You are all doing the work of Jeshua in the nation of his birth. Preparing the hearts of all people in your nation to welcome the return of Jeshua to your nation.
Shalom
Neil
Hello, thank you for your beautiful work. Is there any way some of these homeless people could be given an actual home? Like: invited to share a home with believers? I have often thought about this issue. I live in a small one-room apartment and am battling serious health issues, so I’ve never done it myself, and I don’t want to be a hypocrite and expect something of others that I myself don’t do. But it nevertheless often occurs to me that we believers tend to seek to make people’s lives on the streets easier rather than actually getting them off the streets. What do you think of my thoughts?
Lots of love in Yeshua <3
Dear Jacqui, thank you for sharing your thoughts! We always try to connect those we meet on the street with drug rehabilitation programs, but many of those on the street aren’t willing or able because of the committment it takes to be willing to give up the drugs. Because these people on the street have endured abuse and trauma and because they are addicted to very powerful drugs, they need the help of professionals who are trained and equipped to help them. Just this last week we connected someone to a rehabilitation program.
Thank you so much for replying. Yes, I can see your point. I’m really glad people are being connected (as much as is possible) to rehab programs. In my initial comment I was thinking more of people I’ve known in the past who were homeless but had no substance abuse issues.
Your reply however raises a further issue — and I’m truly saying this to myself just as much as I’m saying it to you — I also can’t help but think that Yeshua did not refer people to professionals, He Himself set them free. I know of one pastor who took a drug addict into his home. The pastor was married and had a young boy of I think nine, so (naturally speaking) the pastor was taking a massive risk. Obviously he was praying. The man he’d invited in had a vision of Yeshua in the night and his life was powerfully changed.
I’m not naive; I’ve worked in the past with drug addicts who were involved in crime to finance their habit. I know that the above is a one-off story and that what this pastor did can’t just casually be copied by anyone. And should it even be necessary to take someone with a drug problem into our home? Again, Yeshua set people free. Not in a long and difficult process but right there on the spot. It’s my deep and fervent prayer that all of us in His body become so close to Him and so able to walk in His supernatural power, that we are able to go way beyond what’s currently possible in our efforts to help others….. including those with great trauma in their personal histories. I guess the bottom line of what I’m saying is that I’m not satisfied with the staus quo, either in my own life or in our congregations. I want to see the “greater works” Yeshua spoke of. That has to include greater works not just of physical but of emotional and spiritual healing. That’s why I’m pushing at the boundaries of what I see, even in such wonderful work as you are doing. It truly is wonderful work, and I am not wanting to minimize that. On the contrary, you’re on my prayer list as a congregation I admire and whose work I expect to see expand more and more.
I meant to ask if you’d please also share your thoughts on my further comment (today’s date; Feb 5, 2021). I’d be interested in what you think.